Anindith Reddy, Managing Director of Wadi Surgicals (Enliva) & Member of IRGMA  

The Indian medical device market though growing rapidly, is driven by 70-80% imports from countries such as the US, China, and Germany. The medical device sector in the country was estimated at 11 billion dollars in 2023 and is expected to grow to over 50 billion dollars by 2030 and currently, India’s market share in the world stands at less than 2%. The central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set its sights on export-oriented growth while developing the manufacturing sector domestically with the establishment of the Export Promotion Council for Medical Devices under the Department of Pharmaceuticals. Further, the medical devices sector requires intense capital and frequent training of the healthcare system providers to adapt to new technologies.

Under the initiative of ‘Make in India’, the central government has introduced National Medical Devices Policy in 2023 to reduce the dependence of foreign countries and be self-reliant. It is expected to boost the growth of the medical device sector to meet the public health objectives of access, affordability, quality, and innovation. The policy has focussed on patient-centric approach with a vision to emerge as the global leader in the manufacturing and innovation of medical devices by achieving 10-12 per cent share in the expanding global market over the next 25 years.

Most medical devices manufactured in the country are disposables like gloves, syringes, feeding tubes, needles, and syringes, as well as implants like cardiac stents, drug-eluting stents, intraocular lenses, and orthopaedic implants. In 2022-23 financial year, India exported medical consumables and disposables worth 1.6 billion dollars. The union government can achieve its growth target by inducing more small and medium-sized companies with Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and set up ‘parks’ across the country. As of now, the Centre is supporting four medical devices parks in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

The government should introduce PLI scheme for the glove manufacturers, which has been the long pending demand from the industry bodies. Domestic manufacturers adhere to stringent global and Indian standards, investing heavily in quality control and compliance. With the right government support, these manufacturers could reach their full potential. However, the influx of substandard gloves—imported in bulk and packed in gunny bags from countries like Malaysia, Thailand, China, and Vietnam—distorts the competitive landscape, undermines local efforts, and stifles growth.

The global demand for high-quality protective gloves has been steadily increasing, and India’s domestic manufacturing sector is in position to offer safe, compliant, and cost-effective alternatives to the substandard chlorinated gloves that continue to flood the market illegally.

Lack of Capital

The broader issue faced by the manufacturers are related to capital, skilled workforce and infrastructure. The industry needs a strong and skilled professional, who can be trained under Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship with private partnerships. The government with industry collaboration can also work on studies to learn the best global practices of manufacturing and skilling system and adapt such successful models according to the Indian market.

The government should focus more on the Research & Development, supporting startups and attracting investments from the private players like Venture Capitalists and along with Public-Private Partnership (PPP). By bringing together various stakeholders, manufacturers can build strong networks across the sector.

The government has to speed up the implementation of Single Window Clearance System’ for Licensing of Medical Devices by including all the stakeholder departments like Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Further, in order to achieve an export-oriented growth, setting up of special economic zones in the coastal areas, PLI scheme for more medical device products including the glove is the need of the hour. Further, Indian market has to adopt the cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, etc which are still limited in the country. By embracing the technologies, Indian companies can overcome challenges related to R&D, production, and distribution.